Roberto Verona

Accounting harmonization in the BRIC countries: A common path?

Highlights • The aim of this study is to examine the adoption of the IAS/IFRS by the BRICs.• We develop a three-dimensional framework (political, economic and cultural dimensions) to investigate the different accounting harmonization processes.• We find that China and India issue national accounting standards based on the IAS/IFRS (‘translation/editing’), whereas Brazil and Russia fully adopt the IAS/IFRS (‘imitation’).• The political dimension, supported by the national culture and ‘community’, drives the decision process, even if the three dimensions are strictly interconnected.• National interests, as the highlighted ‘varieties of capitalism’ show, are currently limiting the standardization process and more broadly, the globalization. Abstract The aim of this paper is to understand the similarities and differences in the accounting convergence process of the BRIC countries. The study examines the evolution of these countries’ accounting systems by developing a three-dimensional framework based on the political, economic and cultural elements. Brazil and Russia merely imitate, whereas China and India edit and translate the international standards (‘informed divergence’). The political aspect, supported by the national culture and ‘community’, represents the main driver, even if the three dimensions are closely interconnected and overall, we show the current emergence of limits of the implementation of the dominant market model.

Do IT audits satisfy senior manager expectations?: A qualitative study based on Italian banks

Purpose - – This paper aims to analyse the relationship between the senior management and the information technology (IT) auditing undertaken in Italian banks, focusing specifically on the internal IT auditing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate senior executives’ expectations regarding IT auditing, the techniques IT auditors apply to meet these expectations, the degree to which senior managers are satisfied with the auditing and the expectation gap. Design/methodology/approach - – We conducted 22 interviews with senior managers and IT auditors of seven Italian banks, comprising large and small financial institutions, to gain data for our analysis. Findings - – We found that overall, the IT auditors’ contributions satisfy senior managers, even though they still see room for improvement. They expect more support for the IT governance processes, specifically for the alignment between IT investments and business needs and between IT risk management and the value that IT resources provide. In addition, they want IT auditors to focus more strongly on IT security. To meet these expectations, IT auditors would have to improve their technical and non-technical skills. These skills will allow them to expand their activities, to be more proactive and to take on effective roles in IT governance processes. Originality/value - – This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the internal audit function’s evolving role and into banks’ IT audit activities. It also provides a valuable insight into senior management’s expectations regarding the role IT audit activities should play to support the profession and the banking policymakers, thus providing a better understanding of IT audit activities and improving these activities’ role.

3. EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL INTERFACE PROBLEMS ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

The supplier-buyer relationship has been the subject of analysis and discussion in the recent operations and supply chain management literature, particularly in the context of integration. Because supplier-buyer relationships are often characterized by complex interactions, a host of different problems can occur at interorganizational interfaces. These interorganizational interface problems exert significant effects on the collaboration between interacting firms by interrupting value-adding processes and by negatively affecting performance. The study developed a conceptual framework to address the effects of different interorganizational interface problems on performance. Our research leads to a better understanding of the relationship between suppliers and buyers and provides theoretically grounded implications for the management of interorganizational interfaces.